


pick me up.

by kamuis



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, M/M, SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 9!!!!!!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-29
Updated: 2019-07-29
Packaged: 2020-07-25 21:30:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20032669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamuis/pseuds/kamuis
Summary: claude would do anything to see you smile again.





	pick me up.

**Author's Note:**

> crossposted from my tumblr @ pokemagines  
GOD I LOVE CLAUDE VON RIEGAN I HAVE TO SCREAM

days passed in a blur, the outside world quiet and dull as you stay cooped up in your room. both manuela and hanneman had promised to help take care of your classes in order to let you grieve, but you weren’t completely relieved of your duties. the few classes they required you to attend you went through stoically, eyes dull and face set in a thin line as you try to compose yourself enough to get through the day.

it didn’t help that you were teaching lessons that _he _had helped you write.

everyone, especially claude, took notice. you were his other half, and even if you tried to put up a brave face around him, he could tell. he hated how much he ached for you now that you weren’t your normal self -- you had grown on him far more quickly than he could ever admit, even to himself.

so, he calls together his house, ready to prepare a scheme that wouldn’t get him in trouble for once.

* * *

unable to sleep once again, you find yourself flipping through your father’s diary, fingers tracing over each loop and curl of the letters written there. you frown, trying to make any sense of the events that were written in there.

‘_a baby that doesn’t cry, laugh, or have a heartbeat. just what am i? some sort of freak?’_

_ "hush. i will not listen to you speak so ill of yourself,”_ sothis’s voice echoes in your head. you can almost picture her sassy expression, _“whatever you are... it is clear you are tied to me somehow... was i at fault for this? i wonder...” _

“hey teach!” a loud knock echoes through your room and you jump, almost ripping a page out of the diary. “you okay in there? can i come in? i brought somethin’ that’ll cheer you up for sure!”

_“is that claude? what is he doing here at this hour?”_ sothis muses. _“ooh, should i give the both of you some privacy?” _

“it’s not like that...” you whisper to her, and you swear you hear her laugh. “but that would be nice, thank you.”

“uhh teach is someone in there? if you’re busy i can--”

“no! it’s fine, just a second.” realizing you were just in your undershirt and skirt, you flush, not wanting him to see you in such a state of undress. quickly, you shrug on and button up your officer’s coat that you had left hanging over the back of your chair. you open the door and find him standing there with a tray of food in both of his hands, and something you couldn’t quite make out tucked into the pocket of his overcoat. 

“brought somethin’ for you teach!” he follows you into your room, you shutting the door behind him. “i haven’t seen you at the dining hall recently, so i figured i’d bring you some food! don’t worry, i didn’t make it, marianne and ignatz did.” his voice gets quiet, “you have been eating, haven’t you?” _he’s worrying about you_. you feel a pang in your chest.

“mercedes and annette made me some sweets but...” you trail off, not wanting him to worry more. “thank you for this, claude, _really_.” 

“don’t thank me, this is just payback for all the times you’ve helped me out.” he smiles so naturally, pulling out your desk chair for you to sit as he sets the tray of food on your desk. “come, eat!” you smooth out your skirt and sit down. it seems they had made you a rather large plate of meat (you suspected raphael was involved in that), a few little pastries delicately arranged, and a piping hot teapot and a teacup.

“i can’t believe you all made this for me...” you whisper, and he sees the way your eyes stare at it blankly. his hand rests against the back of your chair, looking down at you. you’re a little paler than usual, eyes not as bright and cheery as before, and it looked to him like your bottom lip was bleeding due to biting it so much. he sighs, trying his best to think of what to say to make you feel better. 

claude was proud of his silver tongue, but now, when he needed it most, he couldn’t think of the right words to say. he wanted to put a smile on your face, to see you laugh and joke with him over tea like you always did.

“hey, it wasn’t all me... it was the golden deer.” you hear him pull something out of his pockets. “they wanted to tag along and see how you were doing, but i thought it’d be best not to smother you.” 

“i don’t want them seeing me like this more than they have to.” claude leans over you and pours you a cup of tea. you can feel his chest against your back, the warmth radiating off of it reminds you just how cold you are. you shiver.

“it’s okay to be sad, teach, as long as you remember that you’re not alone! you have us!” he chuckles quietly, watching you gently drop a few sugar cubes in. taking a sip, you feel warmth spread in your chest. _it was your favorite tea, leicester cortania, how did he..._

“isn’t this one your favorite? i remembered you were complaining about how you ran out of the supply lorenz had gotten you for your birthday, so i got him to get some more.” he throws his trademark wink at you.

“seriously, i don’t know how i’m deserving of all of this it’s... almost overwhelming.” still, he can see that it looks like you’re holding back a smile, so he knows he has to keep laying it on thick.

“oh, and one more thing,” he shows you the flowers he had been hiding. yellow roses, bright purple violets, and white carnations all in a lovely bouquet. “these... are for you.”

“claude i... i’m seriously speechless,” you laugh bitterly, taking them out and admiring them, hugging them close to your chest. they smelled lovely, and for a moment, you could close your eyes and delude yourself that everything was alright.

“these are the only thing i can take credit for... well, me and hilda did really. who knew flowers were so expensive these days?” for a moment he watches you, waiting to see your reaction, and when he sees that usual spark, however small, in your eyes, he _knows_ it was worth it. “anything else you need while i’m here? even if it’s lovely company from yours truly?” he was not expecting your answer:

“yes... i would like that a lot.”

* * *

you eat mostly in silence, claude pulling up the extra chair that you used to lay your cape when you weren’t wearing it so he could sit next to you. he knew you weren’t in the mood to talk much, so he recounts stories of the golden deer house before you arrived to teach. the story about marianne knocking out lorenz the first time she used a lance made you laugh quietly, the harsh reality of the world becoming a little easier to bear with claude’s company around. eventually, you had finished your food and had opened up about the secrets in jerault’s diary about you. you thought no one better to share it with than claude, and he listened intently to you speak the whole time.

you prepared for the worst, for him to call you a freak, to leave right away, but instead he stared at you, transfixed and in awe that someone as special as you was sitting so close to him. you were an anomaly, one claude wouldn’t mind trying to figure out for the rest of his life it it meant you staying by his side.

it wasn’t until the sun started to rise in the early morning that he had realized just how much time had passed. with you, time always seemed to pass more quickly than he would like. small moments where the two of you could be alone were hard to come by. 

claude picks up the tray, empty except for the dishes that are on it. only then had you realized how close the two of you were sitting, his thigh touching yours. if hilda had seen, no doubt she’d make some wry comment about the small gesture. you miss his warmth when he gets up to leave. 

“i supposed you stayed a little bit too long,” you cast your eyes to the floor. “i hope no one sees you leaving my room at these odd hours... you know how they’ll talk.” 

“well, lucky for you i’m a master at sneaking around,” his eyebrows raise mischievously, “but we at least need to get a few hours in. don’t mark me off if i start dozing off in class, now.” 

“hm, i’ll have to think about that one,” claude laughs, turning to leave, but stops before he exits your room. 

“thanks teach, for all that you do,” his voice turns serious, anxiously gripping onto the door frame as he turns to shoot you one last, meaningful smile. “please... i... no, _we_ all care for you. try to smile if you can, alright? i’m sure jeralt would want you to be happy too. i know i do.” the sincerity in his eyes almost brings you to tears, and you can’t find it in you to say anything, words catching in your throat as you try not to shatter. _you can’t cry in front of him. _

you nod, giving him a watery smile, but that seems enough for him, who beams back at you, before tapping the door frame and heading out.

despite the journal entry that stated otherwise, you swear you can feel your heart fluttering wildly in your chest.


End file.
